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Upcoming Events
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10-13 September 2013
Singapore
15th ABC - Asian Battery Conference
11-13 September
Dubrovnik, Croatia
18th International Congress for Battery Recycling ICBR 2013
17-19 September 2013
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
MicroGrid Forum
23-27 September, Jakarta, Indonesia
Solar PV Trade Mission Indonesia
30 September - 4 October
Paris, France
28th European PV Solar Energy Conference & Exhibition 2013
30 September - 2 October
Stuttgart, Germany
Battery + Storage 2013 International Trade Fair for Battery and Energy Storage Technologies
3 October
Lisbon, Portugal
ILZSG 58th Session
7-9 October
Aachen, Germany
Aachen Colloquium Automobile and Engine Technology
8 October
Milan, Italy
Solar Self-Consumption
9-11 October
Beijing, China
4th Annual Green Mobility 2013
14-16 October
Nice, France
Batteries 2013
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Dear |
This Newsletter brings you the latest news of the association.
We hope you will find this information useful. Please feel free to contact us should you need any additional information.
Best wishes, EUROBAT Office
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Highlights of 2013 EUROBAT Forum and AGM
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EUROBAT held another successful conference in Rome, Italy, on 7 June 2013. With over 110 participants, the EUROBAT Forum proved to be the meeting point for battery manufacturers and supply chain in Europe.
The first session of the EUROBAT Forum discussed how battery energy storage systems could best be used to maintain Italian grid stability and flexibility. It included speakers such as the CEO of Terna Storage, senior management of Enel and partners of Clean Horizon Consulting and the project CU Click Utility.
The session that followed touched upon best practise examples for ensuring the protection of workers and the environment across the global battery industry. Speakers from Honda Motor Europe, Johnson Controls and the US association Battery Council International highlighted the need for coherence to face regulatory challenges from both sides of the Atlantic, and emphasised the effectiveness of on-going cooperation between European and American battery associations, the car industry, and other European associations in Brussels.
The last seesion of the day honed in on the comparative merits of existing and future technologies. This kicked off with IBM's presentation of its Li-air research project Battery500, which looks to develop a technology featuring five times higher energy density than today's Lithium-ion batteries. John Searle and Dave Shaffer conclude the talks with an overview of the latest developments in the lithium and lead battery technologies.
For more details of the event, please click here to read the full press release. The magazine Batteries International article about the event is available here. All presentations of the event are available for download here.
Save the date: EUROBAT Forum & AGM 2014: 5 to 6 June 2014 in Brussels, Belgium
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EUROBAT publishes reports on smart grids and rural electrification
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EUROBAT released early June two publications providing detailed information on the specific advantages of utilising battery energy storage solutions to support the development of both smart grids and rural electrification systems:
EUROBAT Paper: Battery Energy Storage for Smart Grids applications EUROBAT Guidance Document: Battery Energy Storage for Rural Electrification Systems EUROBAT Board and membership expressed their high appreciation for the work by the Taskforces on the two publications. EUROBAT leadership and staff will be speaking about both reports in numerous events taking place everywhere in Europe during the next months. |
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Association News
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EUROBAT Board and AGM in Rome, Italy
Over 100 EUROBAT members gathered in Rome, Italy, on Thursday 6 June for a series of internal meetings - Committees, Associate Members, Board and Annual General Meeting (AGM).
EUROBAT Board endorsed the new president of the association for the next two years: Johann-Friedrich Dempwolff, General Manager, Vice President Industry and Governmental Relations Johnson Controls Power Solutions EMEA (read press release here).
Mr. Dempwolff thanked John Searle and Andreas Bawart for presiding over the association in past months and expressed satisfaction for their willingness to continue their next term. Gathered in Rome, the Board reviewed the activities of the association and discussed a plan for restructing the association's Committees and Taskforces which shall be announced and rolled out towards the end of the year.
The Board meeting and the Associate Members meeting discussed the current membership criteria and ideas for new prospect members. The 30 associate member representatives also enjoyed the opportunity to hold a conversation with Michael Ostermann, CEO of Exide Europe on the latest industry news and events.
The Annual General Meeting endorsed the latest applications received from companies aspiring to join the association:
- Wegemann Automotive (Germany) - associate membe
- Mitsui Chemicals Europe (Germany) - associate membe
- Ecobat (UK) - associate member
- Eternity Technologies(UAE) - regular member
EUROBAT's Executive Director announced the blood lead mitigation programme emphasising how the industry continues to improve the safety and health conditions of its emploees (see more information below).
The AGM approved the latest financial and administrative reports. The activities of the Committees and Taskforces were also passed in review. The meeting concluded with presentations from invited speakers from the US and the Japan battery associations and the European Commission Joint Research Centre. Blood Lead Mitigation Programme re-launched
EUROBAT members have committed to reduce the blood lead levels for all employees below 30 microgrammes per deciliter (μg/dl) by the end of 2016. The decision was taken at EUROBAT's AGM and the public announcement took place during ILA's pb2013 conference in Prague, Czech Republic, via a joint press release with the US sister association - Battery Council International. The BCI's current voluntary removal level of employees is 40 μg/dl. The association's objective is to lower that level to 30 μg/dl at the end of 2016.
The European Union's binding Biological Limit Value for Lead in Blood is 70μg/dl, while the Derived-No-Effect Level set by industry under the EU's REACH legislation is of 40μg/dl. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa limits can vary per country. EUROBAT initiative will enforce its members to go well below the limit in the European Union by the end of 2016.
Member and Stakeholder Outreach
Executive Director Alfons Westgeest visited several EUROBAT members and prospects in the past months and will continue to do so in order to obtain valuable information about expectations for EUROBAT, technology trends, industry outlook and emerging market developments.
He and his team are also connecting to national associations in Italy (ANIE) and Germany (ZVEI) as well as umbrella organisations from the car and car-parts, energy and other customers and supply industry groups.
High level contacts with policy makers in Brussels and abroad
EUROBAT is in frequent contact with EU officials, parliamentarians and representatives from Member States. The EU Sustainable Energy Week that was held in June in Brussels and in some capitals across Europe provided an excellent opportunity to do so. In addition, the GreeneMotion project meeting was held in Brussels as well as the annual Renault-Nissan Green Vehicle Conference. EUROBAT attended meetings and staffed an information booth during the Africa/ Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Government Convention at the European Parliament, which was focusing on Rural Electrification and the impact on emerging economies that have strong links with Europe.
Alfons Westgeest was invited by the US Department of Energy to attend the official opening of the Argonne National Lab's vehicle testing laboratories. While he could not travel to Chicago, the invitation was a clear sign that the TransAtlantic connection in which EUROBAT has been participating over the past few years is working out well. EUROBAT has signed up with the Joint Research Center of the European Commission on battery testing and incident database for hybrid and electric vehicles.
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Other News
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Auto-sector innovation could create millions of jobs by 2030 and help revitalize Europe's growth
Europe could improve its growth prospects and create 500,000 to 1.1 million net additional jobs in 2030 through auto sector innovation. Increased technology to cut fuel consumption could allow the EU to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and deliver between €58 and €83 billion a year in fuel savings for the EU economy by 2030. This shift will achieve the double bonus of mitigating climate change and creating a much-needed economic stimulus.These are some of the conclusions of a new report - Fuelling Europe's Future: How auto innovation leads to EU jobs - released June this year by a consortium of transport sector stakeholders (CLEPA, EURELECTRIC, Transport & Environment, EAA, IndustriAllEurope, Nissan, SSE, ZERO and EUROBAT). The technical analysis was conducted by Ricardo-AEA and the economic modelling by Cambridge Econometrics.
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Update CEM Committee - ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH & SAFETY
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REACH REGULATION
- On 16 May, CEM Chairman Karsten Kurz represented EUROBAT at a meeting between Europe's car industry and the European Commission's DGs Enterprise and Environment. He made the case for reviewing EU binding OEL and biological exposure limits in order to avoid a potential overlap between the REACH Regulation and ELV Directive for Lead and Lead Compounds. This issue will again be on the table at a follow-up meeting in early September. - EUROBAT responded to ECHA's public consultation on the use of Lead and Lead compounds in articles intended for consumer use, in order to emphasise that Lead-based batteries should not be in the consultation's scope, and to amend a number of inaccurate statements made. Since then, ECHA have confirmed that Lead-based batteries will not be considered in the scope of the proposal. - On 20 June, Cadmium and Cadmium Oxide were added to the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern under Annex XIV of the REACH Regulation. This imposes extra obligations onto suppliers of the substance, and producers and importers of articles containing the substance in a concentration above 0.1%. The CEM is in the process of developing a Member Information Brief to explain how this affects producers of Nickel-Cadmium batteries and other batteries containing Cadmium.
BATTERIES DIRECTIVE AND ELV DIRECTIVE
The European Commission has begun to conduct Fitness Checks on the Batteries Directive and ELV Directive, in order to evaluate their effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance. EUROBAT has given preliminary input in response to a questionnaire from the consultants carrying out the Fitness checks (Bio Intelligence Services), and will continue to give feedback across the process for those issues affecting the battery industry.
For more information on the CEM issues, please contact Michel Baumgartner.
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Update ABC Committee - AUTOMOTIVE BATTERIES
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Over the last months, the Automotive Battery Committee (ABC) has worked to develop a methodology for the collection of statistics from its membership on sales of conventional and advanced automotive batteries. Once the methodology is finalised, the collected statistics will be used to support wider regulatory work and to give a firm indication of the size of the automotive battery market in Europe. The ABC has also continued its work to support the CEM, finalising its Review of Battery Technologies for Automotive Applications.
Alongside these major work items, the ABC's ongoing regulatory activities have continued, including the achievement of a 1 year deadline extension for mandatory compliance with Brazilian INMETRO testing and auditing requirements for automotive batteries exported to Brazil within the vehicle. Work continues in cooperation with the European Commission to resolve uncertainties in the Capacity Labelling Regulation (1103/2010/EU).
The ABC Taskforce II on mild, full, plug-in HEV and EV battery issues has continued its cooperation with the European Joint Research Centre, and in September will begin to input on the development of a Battery Safety Information Tool (BaSIT). ABC TF2 members are also currently working to develop a common vision on expected e-mobility battery developments over the next decade, and to identify priority areas where European R&D funding, especially under the European Green Vehicles Initiative, should be directed.
At the end of July, together with three member companies, EUROBAT submitted an application to develop Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) for automotive batteries in passenger cars under the European Commission's three year pilot scheme. If successful, the companies involved will develop common rules to measure and communicate the lifecycle environmental performance of their products. Successful applicants will be selected and informed by 31 September 2013.
For more information about the ABC activities, please contact Erwin Marckx and Chris Heron.
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Update IBC Committee - INDUSTRIAL BATTERIES
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At the 2013 EUROBAT AGM/Form in Rome, the Industrial Battery Committee (IBC) endorsed and presented their internally-collected 2012 Market Statistics for motive and standby industrial batteries, available online here. The IBC has also begun work to develop a Review of Battery Technologies for Industrial Applications, which will be used to support the CEM's wider regulatory work.
On 28 May, to follow up on the publication of their Smart Grids White Paper, four EUROBAT member companies met with the European Commission (DGs Energy, R&I and MOVE) to explain how the business case and market conditions for Battery Energy Storage could best be improved within the Smart Grids framework. This was followed up by the development of an industry position paper detailing priority areas where battery R&D under Horizon 2020 should be directed; and will be further supported by the elaboration of more specific technology roadmaps.
In parallel, EUROBAT and its member companies have continued to publicise their Guidance Document on Battery Energy Storage for Rural Electrification, including a speaking slot at Intersolar 2013 and the staffing of an information booth at the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly. EUROBAT has also maintained its participation in the European Commission's project to develop EU eco-design rules for Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems.
For more information about the IBC activities, please contact Erwin Marckx and Chris Heron |
Latest Industry Events
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EUROBAT Present at Main Energy and Transport Events
EUROBAT members and staff continue to participate and speak at the main events taking place in Brussels and in other locations.
Energy Storage UK - London 17 July
Alfons Westgeest spoke at this event on 17 July, one day after the Solar Future 2013 conference with the British PV Association. Speakers included George Barker, the UK Minister for Energy & Climate Change. With 150 participants the event had some 12 speakers covering a broad range of representatives and stakeholders including financial investors, storage manufacturers, installers, PV companies, and finance & venture capital firms as well as market analysts. Overall the conference sent a positive message that battery and other storage technologies are available, and that even if the economics are challenging, there are clear ways forward to make renewable energy storage work as and when PV installations are put in place. The UK has also announced plans to promote renewable energy and storage. UK regulations would favour raising storage towards gigawatt levels by 2017. All agreed also that some short term subsidies and grants would be useful, and that governments public procurement and investment in R&D is a key to long term innovation and keeping jobs in Europe.
Lead Occupational Exposure Workshop - Prague 19 June
Michel Baumgartner, EUROBAT EU Affairs Manager, and Karsten Kurz, CEM's Chair, spoke at this workshop which ran alongside the ILA event - 18th International Lead Conference (pb2013). Michel Baumgartner presentation provided an overview of latest lead-based battery technology developments.
Intersolar - Munich 17 June
Energy Storage emerged as the presiding issue facing the solar industry at this year's Intersolar conference, held from 19-24 June in Munich, Germany. EUROBAT and its membership participated across the schedule, emphasising the importance of continuing investments into Battery Energy Storage in order to facilitate the smooth integration of photovoltaic energy at all levels of the grid.
Continue reading here
European Parliament Symposium Developing Energy Utilities in African, Caribbean and Pacific - Brussels 15 June
Representatives of EUROBAT's IBC Rural Electrification Task Force participated at this Symposium with a EUROBAT exhibition stand. With the 25th edition of the EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly ongoing across the week, the Task Force spoke with over 70 ACP delegates about the potential for battery energy storage to be used in off-grid and mini-grid rural electrification systems. Useful contacts were made across the day, with all delegates leaving with a copy of EUROBAT's Guidance Document on Battery Energy Storage for Rural Electrification Systems to take back to their home countries.
Global Solar Summit - Milan 8 May
Speaking at the plenary session 'Solar Scenarios, the next level' of the Global Solar Summit held at SolarExpo from 8-10 May 2013 in Milan, Italy, Alfons Westgeest summarised the main technology gaps and regulatory barriers that stand in the way of full deployment of electrical energy storage; and emphasised the importance of continued support for R&D and market development. On May 8 he also presented at Innovation Cloud, a 5 hour session dedicated to discuss PV and overall renewable energy storage.
Continue reading here
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Upcoming Events
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Battery + Storage 2013 International Trade Fair for Battery Energy Storage Technologies - 30 September to 2 October Stuttgart, Germany
BATTERY+STORAGE, f-cell and the e-mobil BW TECHNOLOGY Day will be presented under a single roof for the second time in 2013 - and for the first time under a common motto: WORLD OF ENERGY SOLUTIONS. This will be a central marketplace, industry driver and think tank for the development of battery and energy storage technologies, fuel cell applications and future mobility solutions. At the three-day long conference, more than 140 German and international speakers give insights into the latest developments and trends in hydrogen, fuel cell and battery technologies and present solutions for a future sustainable mobility. Event's website
Self-consumption: the future of solar energy in Italy - 8 October - Milan, Italy
How self-consumption (through storage, smart energy management and system engineering) can be integrated with Photovoltaics to provide financially attractive solutions for the residential and commercial segment. Event's website.
Batteries 2013 - 14 to 16 October 2013 - Nice, France
Last year, the congress hosted more 350 attendees from 70 countries worldwide and gathered the main actors of the sectors in Nice. This year's event will include technical sessions with more than 75 high level speakers from major worldwide value chain of the battery market and 2000 m� exhibit area and business meetings/networking sessions. Event's website
5th CLEPA Aftermarket Conference - 28 October 213 - Brussels, Belgium
CLEPA represents 105 of the world's most prominent suppliers for car parts, systems and modules and 25 National trade associations and European sector associations, with more than 3.000 companies, employing more than 5 million people and covering all products and services within the automotive supply chain. Based in Brussels, CLEPA is recognized as a competent discussion partner by the European Institutions, United Nations and fellow associations (ACEA, JAMA, MEMA, etc).
8th IRES 18-20 November 2013 - Berlin, Germany
In 2006 EUROSOLAR and the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) started the IRES conference series, intended to contribute to the developments in energy storage and to popularize the resulting applications and solutions. The view in the professional energy storage world is that IRES has developed into the central platform for sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas on one of the key issues of future energy supply. The IRES series has so far attracted more than 3,000 participants and will now take place in its eighth consecutive year in Berlin. Event's website
EUROBAT will be speaking at the following events:
Asia Battery Conference - 9 September, Singapore
Klaus Dieter Merz (ABERTAX), co-chair of the IBC Taskforce on Rural Electrification
15th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications & Exhibition - 4 September, Lille
Alfons Westgeest
28th European PV Solar Energy Conference & Exhibition 2013 - 1 October, Paris
Alfons Westgeest
International Lead and Zinc Study Group - 3 October Lisbon
Johann-Friedrich Dempwolff (Johnson Controls Power Solutions) EUROBAT President
Battery + Storage 2013 International Trade Fair for Battery and Energy Storage Technologies - 30 September Stuttgart
Alfons Westgeest
Batteries 2013 - 14 October Nice
Joint presentation EUROBAT-European Commission Joint Research Centre
Alfons Westgeest and Dr. Lois Brett
World Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition (EVS) - 17 November, Barcelona
Alfons Westgeest
Solar Summit 2013 - 23 October Freiburg
Alfons Westgeest
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Raquel Ponte Costa
Communications Manager
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